Which Factor Was the Most Important in Causing the End of the Second World War?
Historians have questioned the factors leading to the end of the Second World War. The allies had greater resources compared to the Axis power, but Germany was dominating even before the World War had begun. Though material comparison was convincing, it was the naive form of analysing the factors. Strategically, Hitler and the rest of the World made mistakes, but some of the strategies prevailed. Evidently through the events of the Second World War, strategy of the two oppositions surface apparent as the most important factor. Hitler’s strategy was juvenile from the beginning, from his thoughts to his decisions made . He distrusted professional advice and was convinced that solitarily he dictated. Hitler offended and trusted the wrong countries, his tactic was his perceptions. One example would be Nazi officialdom’s reluctance to employ woman in munitions factories, which could have benefitted Germany three million men for active service. Militarily, he succeeded from the Blitzkrieg strategy at the beginning , though Germany lacked resources we could see that the plundering of resources Germany required worked . But towards the end, Blitzkrieg was futile as conquering Britain would require a sea and air invasion . In addition, the Luftwaffe leader, Hermann Goering was not good at tactics; he shifted the focus of attacks, and did not realize the potential of radar, his failure in premeditated planning led to the lost of the Battle of Britain . The U-boats was another example of how strategy was crucial. Initially, the Germans had strong aggression and great forecast , but when Churchill retaliated and executed tactics , they lost the battle of the Atlantic . Hitler made the biggest mistake by regarding Britain as an innate friend , it was part of his strategy to neutralise Britain, but this only made Britain stronger particularly when Hitler abandoned his plan to invade Britain when the RAF was close to defeat. Another error was the scheme to invade Russia
Bibliography: (Resource Box)
Graham Darby, Europe at war 1939-45 (London: Hodder Murray, 2003)
Stephen J. Lee, Aspects of European History 1789-1980, (England: Routledge, 1999)
Ben Walsh, Modern World History, (London: Hodder Murray, 2006)